Years, Moments, Seconds
by jamieln612
Summary: She's noticed Teddy a lot over the years...


The first time she notices him, she's thirteen. She doesn't quite understand it yet, but she notices a flutter in her belly when she looks at him. She's sitting on a beach, and Albus is talking in her ear, and for the first time in her whole life she has no idea what he's saying. Teddy is standing at the water's edge with James, and his skin is tanned from the summer sun. Little droplets of water drip out of his hair, and he's _laughing_. James can make anyone laugh so it's no surprise to her that she can hear Teddy's laugh from so far a distance.

She can't pull her eyes away.

She tries to think about other things, like how her dad promised to take her to Diagon Alley next week for some new quills, and how he'll probably buy her ice cream too. Or how Rose is completely in love with Scorpius, and he just hasn't noticed her, and how sorry she feels because Rose is so heartbroken. But somehow all of these things swirl into thoughts of Teddy, and how wonderful it was of him to bring them to the beach when he could easily be doing other things that are considerably cooler.

She feels a smack to her arm, and turns to glare at Albus. "_What?"_

"I'm talking to you, and you're not even listening to me."

She rubs the sore spot on her skin and mutters "Sorry," even though she's not so sure she means it.

When she looks up, Teddy's no longer down by the water, but right in front of her, blocking out the sun's rays.

They've been here for a while, but she's still a bit disappointed when he says, "Let's get out of here, yeah?"

She's even more disappointed when he puts his shirt back on, but she's already convinced herself that she's just not ready for their fun day to end.

*

She's seventeen, and it's her winter hols, and it's the first time she's really kissed him.

She isn't so sure of how it happened, it all felt like a split second. It's New Year's Eve, and she's wearing a really lovely sweater her mum picked out for her. The whole family's in the living room, but she notices that Teddy isn't, and no one really notices when she sneaks away herself.

She finds him the kitchen, all alone, rummaging about for something more to eat. Teddy's _always_ hungry, so it's not that big of a surprise to her that this is where she finds him. It's very possible that she knew this is where he would be, but she doesn't let herself think it. She feels better if she acts like it's all some big coincidence, even though knowing Teddy's location in a house is almost a sixth sense.

"Lils!" he says when he spots her. "I've hardly seen you tonight."

She doesn't say anything, just gives him her best smile, and she thinks she may have given a small giggle too.

His arms open up for her. "C'mere you," he says, beckoning her over.

She doesn't hesitate. She folds right into him, and it's comfortable because it's somewhere she's been a million times, but it's also different. She smells his cologne, and notices the way he squeezes gently, like she's important and hugging her _means_ something to him.

When he pulls away a bit, she goes for it and leans up to kiss him. She lands right on his lips, and it feels like that's exactly where she's meant to be. She isn't completely sure what made her do it, whether it's the festive nature of the evening, or the few too many butterbeers she's had and how light-headed they've made her feel, or the fact that it's something she's wanted to do for as long as she can remember. But she does it, and he kisses her back, his arm still around her waist from their hug that hasn't quite ended.

He only kisses her back for a few seconds before he pulls away. But it isn't a sharp pull, it's slow, like he's easing himself away from her; and they're still practically touching. His fingers run through his hair, messing it up a bit. He doesn't say anything, just looks at her long enough to make her want to burst.

He finally says something, like, "er," or "um," and that's all he says before he steps around her and walks out of the kitchen. He doesn't look back.

She stands there for far too long, just staring into nothing. Her hand finally reaches out, trying to feel for a chair. She finds one, pulls it out, and plops down.

She's not sure how long she's been sitting at the table, but she hears someone enter the room. When she looks over, she sees that it's Albus, and she looks away quickly. She can feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment, and she doesn't want him to know anything's wrong. Because, really, _nothing_ is wrong.

Al doesn't say anything, just makes them some tea, and sits next to her at the table. Al doesn't even look at her, or try to talk to her. He just sits there with her, and Lily is beyond grateful. She doesn't think she could even attempt to talk. It would hurt too much, and she wouldn't even know what to say.

She doesn't cry, but she wants to.

Later that night in bed, she does.

*

Teddy doesn't talk to her much after that. He keeps his distance, and she keeps hers. He's not mean about it, though. He still acknowledges her; it's all just different than it was before.

No one notices— or at least no one says anything about it.

*

She's twenty when she moves out and gets her own flat. It's small, but there's something really charming about it. It's close enough to home that she still feels safe.

A month or two after she moves in, she's curled up on the couch. She's snuggled under a blanket her grandma made her, reading some silly Muggle novel Rose lent her by the fire. She hesitates when there's a knock at her door, because her parents and brothers promised to floo before they stopped by, and they haven't broken their promise yet.

She gets up and goes to the door though, thinking maybe it's Rose or maybe even Molly.

When she opens the door, though, it's Teddy.

She takes in a deep, but silent, breath. She hardly even blinks, not wanting to take her eyes off him any longer than she has to.

She wants to say something, but she doesn't. There's nothing _to_ say, nothing that would make sense when spoken out loud, anyway.

Just when she doesn't think she can handle the tension anymore, he steps forward and kisses her. It's hard and soft and perfect all at once. His cold hands frame her face, holding her to him. He doesn't need to, there's no chance she's pulling away.

They stumble, moving through her flat. She should be leading _him_ somewhere, as he's never been here before and doesn't know the layout, but she can't, can't possibly think about anything at this moment. He figures it out somehow, finds her bedroom without removing his lips from hers.

Clothes are shed and limbs tangle. She can feel his stubble against her neck. His once cold hands feel warm everywhere he touches her.

Sleep comes easy to her later that night, lying in his arms.

*

She's still twenty when everything around her finally makes sense.


End file.
